Baseball’s most bitter rivals, New York and Boston, are headed for a rubber match meeting tonight at Yankee Stadium. The two American League East adversaries are this week’s ESPN Sunday Night Baseball participants; first pitch in their prime time contest is scheduled for 8:00pm ET. MLB Odds at SBG Global have the hosting Yankees listed as a -156 moneyline favorite; the Red Sox are drawing +146 odds to escape New York with a series win. Tonight’s game total is set at 10 runs (Under favored at -115 odds).
The Red Sox have experienced little success against their longtime rival this season as evidenced by their 1-6 record against New York heading into last night’s game. Boston broke the Yankees spell yesterday, though, beating New York 8-6 to set up a potential series win this evening.
The Red Sox, who are 50-51 overall and 10.5 games back of the first place Yankees, will look to steal tonight’s rubber match with southpaw Felix Doubront on the hill. Doubront owns a modest 4.54 ERA and an even less spectacular 1.40 WHIP, but his record is a sterling 10-5 thanks to a healthy amount of run support from the Red Sox potent offense. Doubront did not get much help in his last outing, though, as Boston plated just one runner in a 9-1 loss at Texas. The 24 year old Venezuelan gave up eight hits and six earned runs in the shellacking.
Tonight will mark Doubront’s third appearance of the season against New York; he held the Yankees to eight hits and four earned runs (12.1 innings pitched) in his previous two outings opposite the Bronx Bombers.
New York, which fell to 60-40 with last night’s setback, will counter Doubront with 37 year old right hander Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda is 10-7 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 20 starts this season and the Yankees are 6-0 in his last six starts. The Japanese hurler has been outstanding in his last two outings, yielding just seven hits and one earned run while striking out 14 batters in 14 innings pitched.
Kuroda, who is making his second start of the season against Boston, got lit up for 10 hits and six earned runs by the Red Sox on July 6th at Fenway Park; however, New York won the game 10-8. Kuroda is 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 11 starts at Yankee Stadium this year.
MLB Odds Betting Trend: The Yankees are 9-1 in their last 10 games as a home favorite versus a left handed pitcher with a game total between 9.5 and 10 runs.
Want to dominate the books with winning Pro MLB Plays in the 2012 MLB Season? Get with some of the best MLB Odds experts in the business, sign up right now and receive Free MLB Plays!
MLB Odds 2012 Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees: Provided by SBG Global
Boston Red Sox +1.5 (-140), Over 10 (-105), +146 (Moneyline)
New York Yankees -1.5 (+120), Under 10 (-115), -156 (Moneyline)
